Men's Basketball

Mike Brennan, named the 17th head coach of the
American University men's basketball program on April 30, 2013, led
the Eagles to the top of the Patriot League in his first season at
the helm of AU. After a second-place regular season finish,
Brennan's squad upset top-seeded Boston University, 55-36, in
Boston, to claim American's third-ever Patriot League Championship
and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Brennan was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year and was
honored as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall (top first-year head
coach) and Hugh Durham (top mid-major head coach) Awards.

The Eagles were transformed under Brennan's guidance, surpassing
a ninth-place preseason prediction, to makes it first Tournament
berth since 2009. Brennan has actually been a constant for AU,
sitting on the bench for each of AU's PL championship
teams.

In 2013-14, American was ranked nationally in the top-10 in
field goal percentage (.495) and points allowed per game (59.1),
finishing seventh in each category. The Eagles were also 37th in
country with 15.1 assists per game, using the offense taught to
Brennan by legendary Princeton coach Pete Carril.

Brennan goes down as one of the greatest first-year coaches ever
at AU, winning more conference games (13) than any other coach, and
tying Ed Tapscott for most overall victories (20). He is the only
coach to lead his squad to the NCAA Tournament in his first
season.

Under Brennan, four Eagles earned All-Patriot League honors,
while senior center Tony Wroblicky had a career year, earning PL
Defensive Player of the Year Honors. Junior guard Pee Wee Gardner
also flourished with Brennan's tutelage, being selected as the
Patriot League Tournament MVP.

American was also successful off the court as sophomore guard
Jesse Reed earned Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors
to lead five Eagles on the conference Academic Honor Roll. Junior
guard John Schoof was also named to the NABC Honors Court.

Brennan came back to AU after serving four years as an assistant
coach at Georgetown University under John Thompson III. Most
recently the Hoyas captured a share of the Big East Regular-Season
championship and No. 2 seed in the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball
Tournament.

"We welcome Mike Brennan back to the AU campus as our new men's
basketball coach. He has achieved tremendous success as an
assistant coach at prominent programs -- including Georgetown,
Princeton, and AU -- and as a former student athlete at Princeton,"
said President Dr. Neil Kerwin. His athletics
experiences and academic values are a perfect match for AU and we
look forward to a new era in AU men's basketball."

During his four seasons the team accrued 93 wins, posting at
least 21 victories in each year while boasting all-conference
players in Otto Porter, Jason Clark, Austin Freeman and Chris
Wright, as well as NBA star Gre.g Monroe

During his two seasons at American University, the Eagles
experienced their two greatest years in program history, winning
back-to-back Patriot League Regular Season and Tournament
Championships, advancing to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament
berth.

"I couldn't be more excited about naming Mike Brennan as the
next Head Coach at American University! Mike embodies all the
qualities we were looking for in a coach: integrity; character;
experience recruiting at a high-end academic institution; ability
to connect with players; toughness; and unmatched skills in player
development and teaching," said Director of Athletics &
Recreation Dr. Billy Walker. "Above all, Mike is the
ideal role model and mentor for our young men to emulate.
Mike understands the primacy of academics, but knows we can
compete for championships as well--he's the perfect fit!"

AU posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in Brennan's time, posting
a program best 24-8 record in 2008-09, including a 13-1 mark in
Patriot League play.

"It's extremely exciting to be back at American University and
to become head coach of the Eagles," said Brennan. "I'm so grateful
to AU athletics director, Billy Walker, and the President of AU,
Dr. Kerwin, for this wonderful opportunity. I've been
extremely fortunate to have worked at universities that share such
strong values and whose athletic programs reflect those values.
I am confident that our program will continue to attract
great student-athletes, one that our players, students, supporters
and alums can be proud of."

Brennan came to AU from his alma mater, Princeton University. He
spent seven seasons with the Tigers, guiding the squad to three Ivy
League titles as the top assistant.

Brennan spent a total of 12 years with Ivy League institutions,
serving one season as a volunteer assistant coach at Columbia
University after culminating an impressive playing career at
Princeton.

He was a four-year starter as an undergraduate at Princeton
under legendary head coach Pete Carril. Brennan helped lead his
team to Ivy League championships and the NCAA Tournament in 1991
and 1992. He was named Second Team All-Ivy in 1994.

After earning his bachelor of arts in English from Princeton in
1994, Brennan went on to play professionally in the European
Basketball League for teams in Germany, Belgium and Portugal.

Brennan is married to Alana Woodard of Seattle, Wash. They
currently reside in Northwest D.C.